The Red Hand

Chapter 281 – Anger Management.

"MEW!....MEW!....MEW!" A very small Catkagi meowed happily as she tried, and failed, to catch the cat teaser that Halifax was dangling overhead. The Sword wanted some kitty compensation for all the headache that Akagi had caused earlier, and the Demon wasn't going to say no to a bit of fun, especially when it involved a giggling Miji who was fully intend on spoiling her.

"Come, kitty, jump!" Halifax smiled as she let the string dangle just low enough for Akagi to leap for it but pulled it away just before her little hands could grasp it. "So close! Try again!" She giggled.

{This is so stupid and I love it. Kitty for the win!} (Halifax)

"I believe in you, kitty! Get the birdy!" Miji was sitting next to the two of them, laughing and smiling as they played around. “You can do it!”

"MEW!" Akagi leaped into the air in a desperate attempt to reach the toy but came up short, falling backward on the couch with a thud.

"Ha-ha! Kitty went floop!" Miji giggled as Akagi landed and started twitching and rolling about. "Poor kitty!"

"Do you want to try?" Halifax handed Miji the teaser, which the young girl happily put to work.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Get the birdy!" Miji said as she held out the teaser. However, rather than jump at it Akagi tilted her head cutely and dove at Miji, tackling her to the couch, and rubbing her ears against her. "

"MEW!" Akagi meowed as the tiny Catkagi pounced.

"No, the birdy! Not me, kitty!" Miji giggled as she was tickled by the fluffy ears, unable to resist the Catkagi.

“MEW! MEW!” Akagi meowed, knowing that peace was never an option.

{This is such a cute little interaction. I needed this in m life.} Halifax smiled as she watched Akagi nuzzle Miji for a bit until Hishya and Kana interrupted the fun.

"I thought I heard somebody squealing happily in here." Kana said as she turned the corner and entered the living room from the main hallway. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see Onee-chan tackling poor Miji to the couch and doing unspeakable things to her. This is practically an everyday thing at this point.”

"Kitty!" Miji wrapped her arms around Akagi and gave her a big hug as she glared at the approaching Kana.

{MINE! NO STEAL!} (Miji)

"MEW!" Akagi tried wiggling to get free, but Miji's happy hug was too strong, and she couldn't bring herself to shake it off.

"I suppose you being back means that the shopping is done." Halifax said as she watched Miji and Akagi flop around on the couch and giggle.

"Yeah, we got everything on the list." Hishya answered as she sat a few bags down on the floor.

"As well as a few things that were not on the list." Kana side-eyed Hishya. "Cough, pillows, cough."

"You!" Hishya punched her girlfriend's shoulder lightly. "Don't tell them about that!"

{WHY MUST YOU REVEAL MY SECRET SHAME?!?} (Hishya)

"More pillows!" Miji sat up, Akagi firmly squeezed in her arms. "Can I see them?!?"

"I... um..." Hishya started to blush.

"Pweeeze!" Miji put out her best puppy eyes, which were devastatingly cute.

{Onee-chan has corrupted you well! Use that cuteness to defeat the Dragon!} (Kana)

"Are you really going to deny her when she looks like that, Hishya?" Halifax chuckled as Miji continued to be indescribably cute.

*KIRA* *KIRA*

{DID HER EYES JUST SPARKLE?!?} (Hishya))

"Yeah, if you did, then you'd be a real monster." Kana snickered.

"Fine..." Hishya reached into her inventory and pulled out a pillow that had several Magical Girls embroidered on it from a show that she liked. "Laugh all you want..."

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Miji put Akagi down and ran over to Hishya. "I love Sparkle Girls!" Her eyes shined as she looked at the pillow. "I need to ask Sister for one! Peach is my favorite!"

{I mean, Peach is cool, but Burst is my personal favorite...} (Hishya)

"Maybe if you ask really nicely, Hishya here will go watch some episodes with you." Kana said as she pat the girl on the head.

"Really?!?" Miji got excited. "Please, can we?!?"

Unable to say no to the little girl, and because Hishya actually wanted to watch some anime, Hishya agreed, and after the Dragon deposited the rest of the purchased items in Kana's room, she and Miji went to watch some episodes upstairs.

"That girl is so adorable." Halifax smiled. "Her energy is infectious, and she's just the cutest little thing." She sat down next to Akagi and pulled the Demon into her lap before petting her ears.

"Mew~" Akagi cooed as she was fluffed.

"I'm surprised that Yumi isn't here joining in on the fun." Kana commented as she sat down across from them. "She's usually the one who's spoiling Onee-chan senseless."

{Though anymore, EVERYONE is spoiling her...} (Kana)

"Yumi is currently in Seoul." Akagi answered as she was fluffed. “Thus she cannot provide the needed pets and so here we are.”

"And she's in South Korea, why?" Kana figured it wasn't just for sightseeing.

{I've got a bad feeling about this...} (Kana)

"Business." Akagi's one word answer told Kana all that she needed to know.

{Bad feeling confirmed...} (Kana)

"So, what? Are you gonna go collapse North Korea or something." Kana laughed at her stupid joke.

{As if she'd do something like that!} (Kana)

"Mew..." Akagi looked away in embarrassment.

"WAIT REALLY?!?" Kana yelped.

{I WAS JOKING! DON'T GO DOING CRAZY THINGS THAT I SAY JOKINGLY!} (Kana)

"I can neither confirm nor deny my involvement with the impending overthrow of the North Korean government." Akagi stuck her chin up as she looked away.

{Well, I guess that's good? Right? They're the bad guys, so...} (Kana)

"Do I even want to know why that's happening?" Kana figured that there was something nefarious going on the the background.

"No..." Akagi shook her head as she was scratched.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Kana pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Knowing will  probably just give me stomach cramps."

“I wouldn't worry about it too much. After all, the kitty would never do anything bad, right?” Halifax snickered as she continued her pets.

“Never.” Akagi rolled her eyes. "Kitty is good and nice and cute and totally not evil."

{Riiiiiiiiiight...} (Kana)

With the awkward discussion firmly ended by a deafening silence, Akagi sat and played with Halifax and Kana for a bit longer until the time of her appointment with Mizumi arrived, whereafter the Demon and the Water Spirit moved into Akagi's office.

"So, what did you need to talk with me about?" Mizumi asked as she sat in a chair. "Is this about what to expect from Enoris? I've been preparing some documents for you to-"

"Mizumi, starting today, you're being put on temporary leave." Akagi's words shocked the Water Spirit.

"WHAT?!?" Mizumi stood up in a hurry, confused and frustrated by Akagi's words. "What are you talking about?!? I have work to do!"

{Did I do something to piss her off?!?} (Mizumi)

"That work is precisely why I'm benching you, Mizumi." Akagi sighed as she motioned for her to calm down.

"I know that there's too much to do, but it's important, and it needs to get done! If you're worried about exhaustion, I'll just take potions for that!" Mizumi figured that if she was taken away it would only make things worse.

{The stacks of paper work in my office is MASSIVE and I'm book solid with meetings! I can't just drop all that!} (Mizumi)

"You know that's not healthy." Akagi shot that idea down of chugging potions like they were energy drinks. "But that's not the only reason I'm putting you on break." She continued. "Mizumi, frankly... you're getting far too emotional, and that's not something we need right now."

{Nor is this current path good for you or Omara.} (Akagi)

"Emotional?!?" Mizumi was astonished by her words. "Of course I am! My people's future is on the life!"

{WHY WOULDN'T I BE UPSET?!?} (Mizumi)

"I understand that you are concerned for your people's well-being, but that's not what I'm talking about." Akagi shook her head as she stood up from her desk and moved around to the front. "I'm talking about your anger, Mizumi." She'd been watching her for a while and was beginning to get worried about the emotions swirling within the Water Spirits.

{All of this has been too much for her and I can see some of myself in her. If she lets this get out of hand, then she will destroy herself.} (Akagi)

"Anger?" Mizumi looked at Akagi like she had three heads.

"Listen, you've had a lot dumped on you these last few months, and while I can understand your frustration and disgust with the Spirit Council, the Gods, and the Heroes, you're allowing it to consume you, Mizumi." She'd heard about her outbursts in the jail, subsequent arguments with staff, and other explosions.

{Losing one's cool happens, even to me, but its not good to allow those emotions to start running your life and impacting the lives of others. That only causes self destruction and I've seen it happen to others before, its never pleasant.} (Akagi)

"Those three nearly brought our people to ruin! And the Gods sought and still seek to kill us all!" Mizumi's face started to turn red as she yelled. "Of course, I'm fucking angry!"

{Does she want me to be happy or something?!? Shall I put on a smile and act like I'm okay?!? That I'm not ready to tear heads off?!?} (Mizumi)

"Mizumi!" Akagi yelled back at her, making the Spirit flinch. "Listen, you have every right to be angry with all of those people, but you should know better than most that to allowing anger to overtake you isn't foolish!" She continued. "I know damn well what it means to hate people Mizumi, but I'm also acutely aware of what happens when that hatred starts to seep into everyday life." Akagi sighed as she put her hand on Mizumi's shoulder. She'd fallen prey to allowing her darker thoughts to take hold from time to time, and it had nearly caused her to lose everything once. "Take it from me, those idiots aren't worth the stress you're putting on yourself by constantly being angry." She shook her head.

{I'm probably being a bit of a hypocrite since I can't stop thinking about Taichi and Shima, but that's largely because my hatred of them is part of my foundation as a Demon Lord...} (Akagi)

"So, what? I should forgive them? I should ignore what they did?" Mizumi scoffed at that notion.

"No." Akagi shook her head. To her forgiveness was not something given freely, and Akagi of all people understood that some people were never deserving of it. "I'm saying that if you continue as you are now, that one day your feelings will swallow you up..." She paused for a moment, thinking back to her own issues. "And by allowing those people to live rent-free in your head, you're letting them win, Mizumi."

"So then, what should I do?" Mizumi asked. "I just can't stop thinking about everything, and it drives me up the wall."

{How can I put the near destruction of my people out of my mind?!?} (Mizumi)

"You tell me. You're the thousand-year-old Spirit. Shouldn't you have better insight and wisdom?" Akagi laughed.

"If age guaranteed wisdom, my people wouldn't have had to flee from our home twice." Mizumi sighed. "But you're right." She sat back down, rubbing her temples in frustration. "I've known that my attitude and mental health has been declining over these last few months, but I kept telling myself that once things were dealt with, I could just... go back to normal..." She'd gotten into arguments with Shinlua a few times about work needing to get done, and looking back, a large amount of those arguments were due to her own frustration with current events rather than anything the Elf did.

{Look at me, being pulled aside and lectured to by someone 1/10th my own age... I really am an idiot, aren't I?} (Mizumi)

"Who will handle things while I'm away? We don't have the people to run things as it is, and I do a lot of work each day." Mizumi figured that a vacation was a pipe dream.

"Shinlua will temporarily take over your role while you take a breather. What doesn't get done doesn't get done. I'm not going to give you deadlines on anything, and the most pressing of things will get done first." Akagi had noted that Mizumi tended to overwork herself thinking that everything was an emergency when in reality she could easily take her time with some of the lower priority projects. "It was her that asked me to talk to you, you know? She's been worried about you for a while."

"That idiot..." Mizumi laughed.

{She really has been looking out for me...} (Mizumi)

"I'm thinking a month or so off might be what you need. That way, you can relax, catch up on some sleep and rest." Akagi explained. "I've had a room prepared for you here at the estate, and I won't be letting you go back to Omara unless there is some urgent need, understand?"

"The only problem with this is that I'm supposed to be the one who oversees the execution of the former Council Members." Mizumi said. "My reputation is what will help keep things calm when it occurs, and I need to be there." She was worried about unrest. It wasn't fully public yet what their fates would be and she knew that many wouldn't be on board with their pending deaths.

"I'll handle that, don't worry." Akagi pat her on the head. "So do me a favor and go back to your apartment, pack up your things, and then come back to the estate. The first thing on the list is a nice hot bath in the springs!"

"I'm already guessing that animal therapy will be involved in this 'vacation?'" Mizumi figured some floof was coming her way.

"Maybe a bit." Akagi winked." Now, run along. I've got a few other things to-"

*BUZZ* *BUZZ* *BUZZ*

Akagi's phone rang with a call from Kana, interrupting her discussion with the Water Spirit.

"Take that. I'll go." Mizumi turned to walk out of the office. "And Akagi... Thank you..." She turned away so as to not show the Demon her embarrassed face, and once she was gone Akagi answered her phone.

"What's up?" Akagi asked as she leaned on her desk, having a bad feeling about the phonecall.

"Umm... We have a situation..." Kana's words didn't sound like an emergency, so Akagi didn't freak out. "Can you come back to the living room?"

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